Windfall for champions as India showers praise

HT Correspondent,
Mumbai

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Updated: Apr 04, 2011 03:49 IST

Euphoric over the World Cup win, India on Sunday honoured MS Dhoni’s team that ended the country’s 28-year wait with praise and prizes.

While President Pratibha Patil felicitated the team at a function held at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated the Indian captain on the victory and said the country was proud of the team.

Various state governments announced prizes for local players on the team, and MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar also had the honour of getting on to the list of states other than their own (see graphic). Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa promised free housing sites in Bangalore to all 15 members of the team.

During the function at Raj Bhavan, Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan announced a cash prize of Rs1 crore each for Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan and Rs 50 lakh for the team’s support staff from the state.

The team members, who had reportedly partied at the Taj, where the team has been put up, till early Sunday morning, spent over an hour with dignitaries in the evening at the Raj Bhavan, including Governor K Sankaranarayanan, ICC president Sharad Pawar and also industry leaders such as Mukesh Ambani, Adi Godrej and Gautam Singhania.